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The History of Teamster Corruption, Rebellion, and Reform

right_to_vote.jpgA 55-minute podcast interview with Ken Paff. Start the broadcast. This fact-filled podcast covers the growth of Teamster power, the parasitic corruption that accompanied it, and the victories, defeats and future of Teamster reform. Ken Paff is a founding member of TDU, and the strategist behind winning the Right to Vote for IBT Officers for all Teamsters.

Click here for a six-part history of TDU.

Click here for a history of changes to the IBT Constitution. 

Video: Reform History at IBT Conventions: 1981-2001. A nine-minute video of highlights and lowlights from past IBT Conventions.

Mother Trucker: The Diana Kilmury Story. A fact-based award-winning movie telling the history and TDU-involvement of the first-ever woman elected to the IBT General Executive Board in 1991. 

Video: Labor's Turning Point. A documentary film on the 1934 Minneapolis strikes that paved the way for Teamster growth in the trucking industry. Strike leader Jack Maloney, featured in the film, was a strong TDU supporter in his later years.
Article: "The Teamster Revolt Against the Hoffa Era" by David Levin. The story of how TDU and Teamsters United built a coalition to oust James Hoffa Jr. and transform the union.
Video: TDU pioneers Diana Kilmury ("Mother Trucker") and Ken Paff are interviewed on TDU's origin and taking on the mob.

Related Articles

Michael Savwoir: A Crusader for the Teamster Rank & File

November 07, 2018

Michael Savwoir has fought for democracy, racial justice and a stronger Teamsters Union for well over 30 years, and he’s still going strong. Teamsters—especially TDU members—salute his unwavering commitment, as he steps down from the TDU Steering Committee, on which he has served for nearly 20 years.

The History of the “2/3 Rule” on Teamster Contracts

October 09, 2018

By Ken Paff, TDU National Organizer — As we continue to vigorously demand that the Hoffa administration renegotiate, we need to look to the future. We need a new leadership and a new direction. To make that future, we need to understand the past.

Happy Birthday TDU!

June 05, 2018

On June 5, 1976, a group of Teamsters met in Cleveland to form Teamsters for a Democratic Union. At 42 years old, TDU is the oldest, largest, and most successful union reform movement in U.S. labor history.

Happy Birthday!—TDU Turns 41 Today

September 19, 2017

On this day in 1976, a small group of courageous Teamsters met in Kent, Ohio, to form Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU).

Teamsters & The Right to Vote

September 25, 2014
September 25, 2014: Jimmy Hoffa disappeared in 1975 and the Teamster leadership, already heavily penetrated by the mob, became more and more a tool of employers.   In response, members started to demand the Right to Vote on International officers. Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) took up the challenge, and in 1989 Teamster members beat the mob and won the Right to Vote in International Union elections.   How did a grassroots movement of working Teamster beat the odds and make history? First, we...
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"TDU educates, unites, and involves the members to rebuild union power from the bottom up."

Eugene Braswell, UPS
Local 804, New York

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